2001

After reading this story, be careful where you ski this winter - and remember to wrap up warm, because miracles don't fall off trees, and this is truly a miraculous story of life returning from an icy grave.

During and after the Second World War, a small community of Polish people developed in Ireland. The two peoples shared religion and a history of oppression, while marriage brought them closer together.

Benjamin Zephaniah, one of Britain's leading poets, merges politics and reggae with incisive wit. He was born in Birmingham in the industrial heartland of England, a far cry from his Jamaican roots, but his popularity has since spread around the globe, even earning him a no.1 slot in Yugoslavia!

Anyone who has been to conferences on the art of translation may recall the sea of linguistic terms used by academics to describe the process of transferring meaning from one language to another. Yet, while the theoreticians are often present in large numbers at these conferences, the actual hands on translators are generally diving for cover in the dark corner of some pub on the other side of the planet.

Think twice before you launch yourself into the world of home improvements, for many perils await you. Life is beautiful - so don't fiddle with it!

It is a curious fact about the British that they have never quite come to terms with the idea that weekends are for resting. Saturday and Sunday are, indeed, the busiest days of the week for many people in Britain. During the week activity has to slow down because they are at work, but come the weekend Brits can indulge in their twin passions, DIY and gardening.

Turbulent times followed Poland's independence in 1918, as Poles came to terms with their freedom. To put into words the emotions of a nation, poet Julian Tuwim tried to rid poetry of its elitist image. How far did he succeed?

What is the world's best-known country? Most people around the world these days would reply: the United States of America. Variously known as the U.S., U.S.A., the States or simply America, this is the most heavily populated country of North America, although Canada to the north, which has fewer people than Poland, is far bigger territorially. Second question: who, or what, is an American? Read on and you'll find out.

In the 16th century the English were at war with the Spanish. Queen Elizabeth I needed information about her enemies for the empire she was starting to build. And she needed a spy to get it. Dr John Dee, a philosopher, alchemist and mathematician was introduced to her, and became her most trusted and brilliant advisor. He was the man who inspired Shakespeare to create the character of Prospero from The Tempest, and the inspiration for Ian Flemings James Bond...

The island now known as Jamaica was discovered by the Spanish way back in 1494. It was already populated by Arawak Indians, who had arrived from South America by canoe many centuries before. The Spaniards did not pay much attention to their new colony because it did not have any precious metals to exploit, and so the British met little resistance when they took over in 1655.

The month of October always reminds us that Mr. Edward J. Piszek, the successful businessman, humanitarian and great friend of Poland for the last 40 years, celebrates his birthday. This year it is his 85th and he is still very active in Poland and on behalf of Poland.

British novelist and politician Jeffrey Archer became a Member of Parliament at the age of 29. Bankruptcy forced him to resign, so he sat down and wrote a novel that made him a millionaire. But in July he was sentenced to four years in jail for perjury. This is the story of his rise and fall.

People-watching is always fun, but now "reality television", in the guise of Big Brother, takes it one step further, satisfying our deepest voyeuristic desireswhile giving us a chance to influence the outcome. We are part of the plot!

Welcome to the World of English Summer Issue, in which we invite you to let your hair down (or if you haven't any, to let it grow) and forget, as far as you think wise, about exams, school and university (or, if you are an especially precocious pupil, kindergarten).

Why is selling and buying a house one of the most stressful and tiring experiences of your life? I think it's on a par with having a baby! Since buying a house is probably one of the largest purchases you make in their lifetime, you don't want to make a mistake.

After a year of fundraising, Dominika Bosak, Anna Curyło, Kinga Drozd, Marta Huszcza, Agnieszka Lew, Natalia Piórkowska, and Daniel Zawadzki journeyed from Kłodzko to Burnsville, Minnesota. This article is about the different activities they did and their thoughts about America.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone has been the most hyped film production of recent years, and possibly, for its millions of younger devotees, in living memory. The bespectacled Harry is the latest literary pin-up, which just goes to show thatlooks aren'teverything.

The environment is a hot issue in the UK. Since the 1980s, awareness has grown of the consequences of industrial pollution, nuclear waste, carbon dioxide emissions and global warming. More recently, the BSE beef crisis and the GM food controversy have made the British public even more sensitive to the appliance of science and agricultural error. We are turning into a nation of eco-worriers.

"The idea that we could have a child who escapes from the confines of the adult world and goes somewhere where he has power, both literally and metaphorically, really appealed to me." J.K. Rowling's life, like that of her character, Harry Potter, has the lustre of a fairy tale. She has made her fortune, yet it isn't all plain sailing...

An incredible 24 million mobile phone text-messages are sent and received every day in Britain. The young, especially, love this way of communicating, but many academics and teachers are increasingly worried about the quality of English they use when sending an SMS.